Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reston vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary

Reston is 59.4% more expensive than Nelson.

Restaurants
pay 61.2% more in Reston
Groceries
pay 43.6% more in Reston
Transportation
pay 0.3% less in Reston
Housing
pay 2.0 times more in Reston
Childcare
pay 4.8 times more in Reston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.1% more in Reston
Clothing
pay 20.1% more in Reston

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Reston are more expensive than in Nelson. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Reston.

Reston vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Reston instead of Nelson, you would:

pay 61.2% more for restaurants

 
Nelson
Reston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $13.73
NZ$24.74
$28.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.40
NZ$15.14
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.75
NZ$3.16
$2.91
 

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pay 43.6% more for groceries

 
Nelson
Reston
Bread
1 loaf
$2.11
NZ$3.80
$4.23
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.62
NZ$8.33
$8.53
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
NZ$12.84
$4.95
 

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pay 0.3% less for transportation

 
Nelson
Reston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.97
NZ$10.76
$3.63
 
Monthly public transit pass ?? $130.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $17,086.24
NZ$30,794.34
$30,000.00
 

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

 
Nelson
Reston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$42.72
NZ$76.99
$77.80
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,022.37
NZ$1,842.61
$2,333.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $812.30
NZ$1,463.99
$1,566.67
 

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pay 4.8 times more for childcare

 
Nelson
Reston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $448.16
NZ$807.72
$3,175.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,899.11
NZ$23,247.93
$41,506.00
 

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pay 16.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nelson
Reston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.28
NZ$13.13
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.22
NZ$5.81
$6.15
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$25.18
NZ$45.38
$13.94
 

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pay 20.1% more for clothing

 
Nelson
Reston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.29
NZ$94.23
$75.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$28.15
NZ$50.73
$44.11
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$101.77
NZ$183.42
$104.50
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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